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Show Your Love For 15's - Post Those Cab Pics!
- Thread starter 60bass
- Start date
My peavey 215, Duratex Coating, Skid Rails on the back, 2" mattress foam interior lining, JBL K140 on bottom, Black Widow on top, wired 4 ohms, guitar wall hanger on side of cabinet, Ernie Ball casters.
the insulation is a very big up-grade to any cab!!!
after adding said foam to my Peavey 215, i was AMAZED! if you haven't done it, you're just plain ol' missing out.
- Feb 16, 2008
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- 23,638
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- John K Custom Basses
i tried that and they ended up shipping the non arauco liteply stuff. the shipping also cost more than the plywood itself did.
the super nice birch stuff that i bought locally actually weighs less than the arauco stuff. their website says that a 15/32" 4x8 sheet weighs 41.7lbs on average, and my stuff weighs 32lbs per 4x8 sheet.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
my somewhat lightweight 2x15 cab project is coming along now that i have everything for it. i just bought two new 3015 Kappalites that i'm going to install in it. here's a pic of the baffle:
the baffle is 3/4" ply, but i routed it 1/4" deep in four areas on the back of it to lighten it a bit without changing its stiffness. here' a pic of the rear of the baffle and and the braced rear panel:
here's a pic of it with everything glued together except for the front baffle (it's just layed in place to test the fit). at this point, the cab weighs 23 lbs, which IMO, isn't too bad since the box is 1/2" birch plywood:
it's going to have just one speakon connector on the back, so i inlaid it:
hoping i can get the rest of it glued up in the day or two so i can install the speakers and test it before i take it apart and paint a thin textured herculiner finish on it, and then install a metal perf grill. i'm hoping to keep it in the 45lb range if possible.
the baffle is 3/4" ply, but i routed it 1/4" deep in four areas on the back of it to lighten it a bit without changing its stiffness. here' a pic of the rear of the baffle and and the braced rear panel:
here's a pic of it with everything glued together except for the front baffle (it's just layed in place to test the fit). at this point, the cab weighs 23 lbs, which IMO, isn't too bad since the box is 1/2" birch plywood:
it's going to have just one speakon connector on the back, so i inlaid it:
hoping i can get the rest of it glued up in the day or two so i can install the speakers and test it before i take it apart and paint a thin textured herculiner finish on it, and then install a metal perf grill. i'm hoping to keep it in the 45lb range if possible.
- Jun 29, 2006
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- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
johnk_10 said:
John,
I'm surprised you haven't built more cabs already given your insane woodworking skills! The cab looks great, thanks for sharing, and I look forward to seeing the finished results. Just curious, did you consider using any dado/rabbet for the joints and baffle?
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
thanks, but building cabs is just too much work unless i have a specific need for its size, shape, and speaker configuration.
as far as rabbet/dado's go, IME, if the fit of all of the pieces is tight and all of the wood is perfectly straight (no warps), i just use the screw and glue method, then once the glue cures i remove the screws and glue in wood dowels to replace them. i've never had a strength of joint issue using that method.
here's a pic of it with everything glued together except for the front baffle (it's just layed in place to test the fit). at this point, the cab weighs 23 lbs, which IMO, isn't too bad since the box is 1/2" birch plywood:
Oooh, love the porting layout. And the weight sounds good so far. May I ask where the design came from?
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
there's was no design plans, i just knew how deep of a cab that would still fit in my car's trunk (14" deep), looked up the 3015's cabinet requirement range and made the cab accordingly. then i used the winsd program to calculate the port size and depth to tune it. so it's just my own design.
i glued in the baffle today, installed some stainless steel threaded inserts for the speaker mounts (since i'm not fond of t-nuts), i used 1/4" pine strip to make it appear that the cab is made out of 3/4" ply (i guess i'm just too 'old school' to like the apearance of 1/2" ply cabs), then i installed some 3/4"x3/4" strips for the aluminum grill mounting around he edges so the grill will clear the edge of the front loaded 3015's. after than i made two pine braces that connect the baffle to the back of the cab to keep it stiff and rigid. finally, i rounded the edges with a 1/2" roundover bit. i just weighed it as it is now, and it came out to 25lbs exactly.
i'm just about ready to install the speakers and take it for a test drive:
there's was no design plans, i just knew how deep of a cab that would still fit in my car's trunk (14" deep), looked up the 3015's cabinet requirement range and made the cab accordingly. then i used the winsd program to calculate the port size and depth to tune it. so it's just my own design.
i glued in the baffle today, installed some stainless steel threaded inserts for the speaker mounts (since i'm not fond of t-nuts), i used 1/4" pine strip to make it appear that the cab is made out of 3/4" ply (i guess i'm just too 'old school' to like the apearance of 1/2" ply cabs), then i installed some 3/4"x3/4" strips for the aluminum grill mounting around he edges so the grill will clear the edge of the front loaded 3015's. after than i made two pine braces that connect the baffle to the back of the cab to keep it stiff and rigid. finally, i rounded the edges with a 1/2" roundover bit. i just weighed it as it is now, and it came out to 25lbs exactly.
i'm just about ready to install the speakers and take it for a test drive:
Great looking cab, John. How about dropping a pair of D140s in there and let us know how they work. With ports open and blocked.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i just installed the 3015's and tested it at stage volume with my SVT head the cab sounds awesome!!!! even without any dampening in it (i plan to install some mattress topper foam in it when it's done) it sounds great, and not even a hint of buzzing, rattling or port chuffing. and if you push it, it just gets louder and louder. this thing feels like it can put out quite a bit more volume than my 810 SVT cab,
here's a pic of it. right now it weighs 42 1/2 lbs:
i also got some 4" port blockers to see how it sounded as a sealed cab and it sounds absolutely great that way too. with the ports open, it has quite a bit more low end extension. with them blocked it's a bit more compressed and 'tighter' sounding, but i have a feeling that i'll just run it 90% of the time with them open and if it gets boomy, i'll just slightly turn down the bass knob.
i also tried it with my streamliner 900 and it sounds great with it too. i just need to find a way to get the 1.5K frequency a bit more under control since, IME, the STM900 is a bit more harsh in the upper mids than my SVT. i'm going to try a couple of different tubes in it to see if i can dial it in but i'm usingmy favorite NOS tubes in it right now ( a 5 star '64 GE triple mica 5751 in V1, and two NOS '60's amperex 'bugle boys' in V2 and V3). i'm going to try a NOS telefunken 12AX7 and some RCA 12AX7's in it to just for the heck of it.
as far as trying some D140's in it, i don't have any ( all of mine are K140's, K130's and E130's), and i can already tell that all of them would sound great in it, but a heavier speaker cabinet isn't what this build is all about ( and i already have three 2x15 JBL K140 cabs).
at 42 1/2 lbs, i figure the aliminum perf grill will add a little under 3lbs, the herculiner (i don't know how much weight it'll add, but i'm going to put it on very thin), the corners won't add much since i'm using the small, lightweight Sunn type metal ones (only they're powder coated black ones), and then there's a single fender 'strap' handle and four rubber feet. so, i expect it to still come in at under 50 lbs, which consider pretty light for a 900 watt 2x15 cab.
here's a pic of it. right now it weighs 42 1/2 lbs:
i also got some 4" port blockers to see how it sounded as a sealed cab and it sounds absolutely great that way too. with the ports open, it has quite a bit more low end extension. with them blocked it's a bit more compressed and 'tighter' sounding, but i have a feeling that i'll just run it 90% of the time with them open and if it gets boomy, i'll just slightly turn down the bass knob.
i also tried it with my streamliner 900 and it sounds great with it too. i just need to find a way to get the 1.5K frequency a bit more under control since, IME, the STM900 is a bit more harsh in the upper mids than my SVT. i'm going to try a couple of different tubes in it to see if i can dial it in but i'm usingmy favorite NOS tubes in it right now ( a 5 star '64 GE triple mica 5751 in V1, and two NOS '60's amperex 'bugle boys' in V2 and V3). i'm going to try a NOS telefunken 12AX7 and some RCA 12AX7's in it to just for the heck of it.
as far as trying some D140's in it, i don't have any ( all of mine are K140's, K130's and E130's), and i can already tell that all of them would sound great in it, but a heavier speaker cabinet isn't what this build is all about ( and i already have three 2x15 JBL K140 cabs).
at 42 1/2 lbs, i figure the aliminum perf grill will add a little under 3lbs, the herculiner (i don't know how much weight it'll add, but i'm going to put it on very thin), the corners won't add much since i'm using the small, lightweight Sunn type metal ones (only they're powder coated black ones), and then there's a single fender 'strap' handle and four rubber feet. so, i expect it to still come in at under 50 lbs, which consider pretty light for a 900 watt 2x15 cab.
